


Define Lost

by AspiringToInspire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: All sides of the love square, F/M, Fluff and Humor, I didn’t mean for the angst to be there but it is just a little though, Ladynoir July, Light Angst, Lucky Charm Bracelets (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25178524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspiringToInspire/pseuds/AspiringToInspire
Summary: “Adrien groans because he knows that Plagg is right ('it happens occasionally, you know,' he'd bragged earlier), but his kwami already has a large enough head, Adrien doesn't need to go around telling him that and making it even worse.Although, he's sure that if he did, that would be the least of his worries right now because he may or may not (definitely may) have just recently given away his secret identity.Ladybug's going to kill him, and he guesses that soon, he'll be adding his Miraculous to the list of things that he's lost this week.“
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 67
Kudos: 242





	1. May I Quickly Use Your Bedroom?

Adrien loudly groans out in frustration for the fifth– or maybe fiftieth, who can really tell at this point– time for the day. He's about to lose it.

Or, at the very least, he's impossibly close to tearing all his hair out. The day's been a total disaster.

"Now, why would you go and do a thing like that, Adrien?" The nasally, patronizing voice of his ever helpful kwami slices through his train of (admittedly already muddled) thought. "Without your golden locks, how else are you going to get girls?"

And Adrien could strangle him.

Luckily though, he's never been the violent type... Or at least he hasn't been, _yet_ , so, " _Plagg_ ," he simply pleads, "for the love of cheese, would you just stop eating for one second and actually help me out here?"

But his words fall upon deaf ears.

"Now, why would I do that?" The tiny demon cat devours his repugnant piece of heaven whole before placing his hands (paws? Adrien still isn't quite sure) on his hips. "I've already told you where it is, and you won't listen to me."

Adrien groans, because he knows that Plagg is right, (' _it happens occasionally, you know_ ,' he'd bragged earlier) but his kwami already has a large enough head, Adrien doesn't need to go around telling him that and making it even worse.

Although, he's sure that if he did, that would be the least of his worries right now, because he may or may not (definitely may) have just recently given away his secret identity.

Ladybug's going to kill him, and he guesses that soon, he'll be adding his Miraculous to the list of things that he's lost this week.

-

Adrien hadn't meant for it to happen, he swears.

He's usually a lot more careful when it comes to things like this, contrary to what many others likely believe, but it'd been such a long day, what with receiving his first ever B+ in school, and getting in trouble with his father for it, and seeing Nathalie go through yet another dizzy spell that reminded him of the ones that his mother used to get, which is enough to drive him up a wall, because he's watching her grow significantly weaker with each passing day and there isn't a single thing that he can do about it, but to top it all off, he'd had to deal with not one, not two, but _three separate_ akuma attacks all in only a few hours too, so what else was he going to do?

He just– he couldn't help desperately feeling like he needed to see a friend after it all, and he certainly couldn't do so as Adrien, so after the last akuma attack, on a whim, he'd decided to quickly stop by Marinette's as Chat Noir, because as much as he adores her, he'd known that Ladybug wouldn't have stayed in that moment just to trade meaningless nothings with him that would help to make everything feel lighter like Marinette would be happy to do, not when the timers on their Miraculous and the threat of revealing their identities were incessantly ringing in their ears.

She loves him, he knows that, but most times, it just feels like she loves Paris maybe a little bit more.

-

Marinette had been out on her balcony, looking tired, but relieved, accomplished, and quite pleased with herself when he got there.

Chat Noir likes to drop in now and then to have quick chat with her, so he'd been almost certain that she wouldn't mind that he was doing so now.

Still, he'd been hesitant as he hopped onto her railing, not wanting to interrupt whatever quiet victory she appeared to be celebrating.

"Good evening, little lady," he smiled at her as soon as he came into her view.

Marinette squeaked, shrieked, and jumped a few feet in the air all in a few seconds when her eyes landed on him, and Chat Noir briefly wondered if his transformation had already dropped and that he was back to being Adrien.

"C-Chat Noir!" She stammered out, seeming nervous like she always did only around his civilian self. "Hey– hi– hello! W-What are you doing here?"

Yeah, something was definitely up. Her eyes shortly darted to behind him and widened, causing him to glance in the direction that she did for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she felt that she was in danger right now and that was why she was acting so strangely?

He saw nothing though, so he pouted slightly in confusion before shaking his head and turning back to her with a grin.

"Is something wrong, Chat Noir? Is it another akuma?" She sounded worried.

Chat Noir smiled more genuinely at her concern. "No. No, everything's fine, princess," he assured her. "And I'm sorry for dropping in so unexpected like this, but I kind of really need to ask a huge favor of you, if it isn't too much trouble."

Her eyes rounded with more regard. She stepped closer to him. "Oh, of course. What is it?" His Miraculous furiously beeped his answer before he could. It drew Marinette's attention to it. She frowned, and her expression was slightly panicked. "Your ring's flashing. Chat Noir, why is your ring flashing?"

He rose his hand up to rub behind his neck nervously. "That's, uh, actually why I need your help. I'm about to transform back, and I need to feed my kwami, but I can't do it out in the open like this. You remember what a kwami is, don't you, little lady?"

"What?" She scoffed, backing away from him anxiously. "No! A kwami? What's a kwami? I'm not a superhero! Why would you say that?"

Chat Noir didn't think that he did. His eyebrows furrowed. He was nonplussed. "Didn't you meet one when you were Multimouse that one time?" He asked unsurely, or did he just imagine that whole thing? Ladybug hasn't brought it up since, and neither has Marinette, so that's possible, he supposed.

"Oh!" Marinette exclaimed, releasing a breath. She laughed a bit maniacally. "Oh, right. That giant bug mouse thing– er, kwami, I guess. Of course." She nodded fervently.

Chat Noir chuckled slightly. She was so weird sometimes, but it worked for her. "Yeah, so may I quickly use your bedroom then, please? To feed him? I promise I won't take very long."

"Sure!" She agreed, smiling at him so brightly it warmed him like the sun did. "I'll just be up here waiting, standing very far away from the door, with my back turned and my eyes closed, until you're finished."

He grinned at her gratefully, not being able to fight the urge to take one of her hands in his own clawed one. "Thank you! You're a lifesaver, Marinette!" Chat Noir quickly kissed her hand before hightailing it through her skylight.

His transformation fell the minute he landed on her bed. He sighed in extreme relief. That was close.

But perhaps a bit _too_ close if the glare Plagg was directing at him in that moment was any indication.

"Adrien, just what do you think you're doing bringing us to Pigtails' house like this?" He demanded. "You know, usually, I'm all for breaking the rules and living a little, but even I think that this is cutting it a little close. Did it ever occur to you that Baker Girl could be _spying_ on us right now and that she could discover your secret identity?"

Adrien gave him a look. "Well, if Marinette wasn't spying on us but _did_ happen to be listening in on our conversation just now, you just gave it away yourself by calling me Adrien, so that one would be on you, really," he shrugged, tossing him a piece of cheese.

Plagg narrowed his eyes at him, but Adrien couldn't find it in himself to take him quite as seriously as his kwami slowly sank his fangs into his gooey gunk, causing it to emit a squishy sound. "Ha ha, very funny. Just don't come crying to me when I turn out to be right."

Adrien rolled his eyes at that but chose not to say anything else. He didn't think that that was likely. Marinette just wasn't that type of person, he thought as he absently reached into his pocket and grasped the lucky charm that she hadn't hesitated to give him even when they'd barely known each other all that time ago.

No, she would _never_ do that to him, he was sure of it, no matter which side of him she was dealing with, so he released the gift and pulled his phone out of his pocket instead to check if his father or Nathalie had noticed his absence yet.

He faintly heard something clatter against the floor when he did. He didn't think about it too much though, too busy looking at his screen that didn't display either of their names. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed by that.

But, as with everything else concerning his home life, Adrien pushed it to the back of his mind before he could ponder too hard on it. He really needed to not be him right now.

So, "Plagg, claws out!" he called for his transformation.

"Wait, Adrien, aren't you going to–" His kwami wasn't able to complete that thought.

Adrien winced slightly, realizing a bit too late that he hadn't finished yet, but simply decided that he'd just have to make it up to Plagg later, before climbing back out onto the balcony.

"Hey, Marinette," he greeted, smiling to himself when he noticed that she indeed had been up here waiting, standing very far away from the door, with her back turned and her eyes closed. "Thanks so much again for letting me use your room. This superhero stuff can put you in some pretty tough situations sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Marinette turned to him and sighed heavily, then shook her head before flailing her arms around a bit when she saw him tilt his head. "I– I– I mean that you should tell me about it! Because I have no idea what it's like. You know, being a hero and all. I mean, I can only imagine. _Just_ imagine. Unless you know, we're counting that one time when I was Multimouse, but we both know how that ended, so I couldn't ever call myself a superhero. Not even close. I am so clumsy."

Chat Noir smiled lightly as he listened to her ramble. "Right." He hesitated. At least now he knew that he didn't imagine it. "Are you okay, princess?" He asked, however. "You seem a bit... different today." He spoke carefully, not wanting to upset or offend her. She just appeared to be a bit jittery today, and he was worried for her.

She paused, pouting ever so slightly, and wrung her hands together. "You, um– you noticed that?"

Chat Noir shrugged, giving her a small encouraging smile. Of course he did.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little jumpy and all a mess because I'm exhausted. Everything is just so– so hectic these days, you know?" She ran a hand down her face as she sat on her deck chair. "But I'm fine, really. What about you though? I highly doubt that you just pop in on civilians after a battle or _three_ when you're about to transform back," she twinkled at him softly, "so something must be going on. Are you okay?"

"Hey, you don't know what I do in my free time," he joked. "I could visit all kinds of civilians."

Marinette giggled a little. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special," she said teasingly, patting the spot next to her for him to sit. "You seem a bit out of it today too though. Is it because of all the akumas?"

"Partly," he conceded, thinking about all the tough, nearly life ending battles that he and Ladybug had had to endure today with only an hour or two between each of them to recharge. Hawkmoth sure had been busy today. "But I guess that I've just been _feline_ tired and awfully stressed out lately too." He sighed dramatically, leaning into her side. "What's a cat to do?"

She stiffened for a second before he felt her loosen up a tad and slowly lean her head on his. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah," he answered without missing a beat, "but I can't, really," he sighed again, for real this time. "Secret identities and all that."

Marinette placed a hand on his knee. "Well, I'm here for you," she squeezed it, "whatever you need. We can talk, or _not_ talk, whenever you like."

He felt himself being warmed up by her from the inside out once more. "Thanks, Marinette. I'm so glad we're friends." He paused. "We– we are friends, right?"

She laughed a bit at his uncertainty. "Of course we are, kitty."

The evening had ended _purr_ -fectly.

-

Or at least that's what he'd so blissfully ignorantly believed until it was time for him to get ready for bed.

He'd already showered, completed all his homework, practiced his piano, and brushed his teeth, so all that was left for him to do was pack his bag for school tomorrow then empty his pockets before throwing his clothes in the wash like he always makes sure to do every night, so he proceeded to do just that.

The whole process was entirely mundane, honestly, and he'd been going about it by rote, not giving it even half a second thought, already imagining what it'd be like when sleep finally enveloped him, when abruptly, he froze, and he felt his heart drop.

His blood ran cold, his palms started to sweat, and Plagg ever so helpfully broke into raucous laughter behind him.

It was then that Adrien had three simultaneous thoughts: His Marinette Lucky Charm was missing. He'd had it on him while he was at Marinette's, and he was totally and utterly f– _toast_.

He was totally and utterly toast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	2. You’re Hot In Your Fencing Uniform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She's debating whether or not she should just run out right now or continue this mortifying conversation with Adrien– Adrien, whom she finds sporting an expression that's a cross between slightly embarrassed and amused when she chances a look at him, and ultimately decides that she's doing the first and changing schools on top.
> 
> Why did she think that she could do this again?”
> 
> -
> 
> Marinette tries speaking to Adrien. It does not go as planned, but really, what else is new around here?

"Please don't say a word!" Marinette points an accusing finger at her kwami who just zipped out of her bag and is now floating in front of her face and shoots her a pleading look.

Tikki shakes her head at her, smiling slightly. "I wasn't going to, Marinette."

Or, perhaps she was, but in this moment, it's probably best that her chosen doesn't know that.

Marinette grips at the straps of her schoolbag and walks further into the locker room, taking shaky steps.

"Maybe, but I know what you're thinking, Tikki. You're still thinking that this is _all_ a horrible idea, that I shouldn't speak to Adrien at all about the lucky charm, that I should just give it back to Chat Noir and give _him_ the chance to explain this to me himself before I jump to any conclusions," she takes a deep breath, " _but_ there's a few things that I have to check first, you know, simply for peace of mind."

Only a few minutes ago had Marinette been about to head home. She was getting ready to bid Alya and Nino goodbye after spending almost an hour in the library studying with them when she caught sight of Adrien at fencing practice, and before she could back out once more, she steeled herself and decided to make a beeline to the lockers, leaving her friends behind with a bumbling explanation about a book that she'd forgotten and a distracted wave and backwards glance that nearly had her crashing into the door.

All day had Marinette managed to talk herself out of asking Adrien about the whereabouts of the lucky charm that she'd given him, for fear of accidentally projectile vomiting all her words around him like she always did and blurting out something that she really wasn't supposed to, but now, she thinks that she's had enough time to mull over exactly what she wants to say to him, so she's sure that she'll be fine... Hopefully.

"You don't have to worry about me walking up to Adrien right now and asking him if he's my partner whom I fight supervillains alongside everyday, who also just so happens to be in love with me," her fingers clutch at her bag straps tighter at just the thought of that, "because he's not, Tikki! I know that he's _not_ , and even if he is, he's not! He's Adrien, and Chat Noir is _Chat Noir_. They are two completely, different, _separate_ wonderful individuals whose similarities are all purely coincidental and could be found in any number of people in the world."

They have to be.

"You sound very sure of yourself," Tikki tells her.

"I am." Marinette nods firmly as she takes a seat and starts jiggling her leg in anticipation.

Her kwami flies over and sits on her shoulder. "Good, because remember what we talked about, Marinette. This entire situation is very tricky, and you need to consider how your actions will affect all you, Chat Noir, and Adrien."

"I know," she sighs, slumping. "Chat's name won't even come up when I'm talking to Adrien. I promise."

"I know that you'll do the right thing, Marinette." Tikki nuzzles her cheek. "You always do."

"Thanks, Tikki," her chosen smiles weakly in response. She really hopes that she will.

-

She'd found it as she was getting ready for bed.

After completing all her homework and her daily bedtime routine, Marinette changed into her pajamas before eagerly walking up to it, really only half-awake after the insanely lengthy day that she'd had, and she was prepared for a long, much-deserved good night's rest when she had to yelp, startling an already practically dozing Tikki awake.

"Ow!" Marinette scowled deeply, moving back, wondering what the heck it was that she just stepped on.

She glanced down at the floor, and, "Oh," she mumbled. "It's just my lucky–" she began to say before her words caught in her throat and her breath hitched, "–charm..." she finished, snapping her mouth closed. "It's just my– my lucky charm that isn't– that isn't mine anymore," she whispered to herself in astonished confusion. Huh.

"T-Tikki?" She called out hesitantly.

Her kwami glided over sleepily. "Yes, Marinette?"

"Tell me," she starts calmly, bending over to pick it off the floor, "in my state of extreme exhaustion, did I accidentally take something that belongs to Adrien again today and don't remember?"

"I don't think so," came the tired reply.

Marinette hummed. "Mhm, thought so." She lifted her old charm and held it in front of her eyes. _Maybe the extreme state of exhaustion is causing me to imagine this instead_. "Then why is the lucky charm that I gave him in my bedroom? This is the lucky charm that I gave him, right?"

She means, she thinks that she'd know, given that she owned it for quite a while, but she still had to check to make sure.

Tikki's eyes widened slightly, and suddenly, she seemed more alert. "It– it looks like it, but I'm sure that there's a very good explanation for that."

"Okay," Marinette nodded, lowering her hand and sitting on her bed. "Like what?"

Tikki frowned slightly, shrugging. "Maybe Adrien dropped it into your bag in class today by mistake."

That was a good explanation. A very good explanation, actually.

Or it would be, except, "Tikki, my bag's all the way over there," she pointed over to the other side of the room, near her desk. "It was never over here. But do you know what _was_ , even if it was only for a minute? Or rather, _who_ was?" Tikki didn't answer that. Marinette took that as her cue to go on. "Chat Noir had this on him. Chat Noir had Adrien's lucky charm, which means–"

Tikki flew up to her and placed a hand (paw? Marinette still isn't quite sure) to her mouth. "I don't think that it's a good idea for you to finish that thought, Marinette. You know how dangerous this is. Anything that could potentially reveal either yours or Chat Noir's identities should be avoided at all costs."

Marinette faltered. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm _saying_ that that may or may not be Adrien's lucky charm that once belonged to you, but even if it is, you must return it to Chat Noir since _technically_ , he's the one who lost it here," Tikki told her firmly but in that gentle way that always balances out. "You can't give it back to Adrien, because then he'd know that you're friends with Chat Noir–"

"And that could potentially put all of us in danger," Marinette finished for her with a sigh, dropping onto her pillow.

"Right."

She groaned. "Ugh, _mon chaton_ really wasn't wrong when he said that this superhero stuff can put you in some pretty tough situations sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Marinette," her sweet little ladybug pouted sympathetically. "I know that this is hard for you, but it also keeps everyone safer."

"No, I know, Tikki," she shook her head, trying for a smile, "and that's what's most important."

That's what's always most important.

It was hours before she finally fell asleep. It wasn't even the fact that she kept thinking that Adrien could possibly be Chat Noir that prevented her from getting some rest.

No, because she's been at this long enough to know that she shouldn't even try to speculate on his identity at this point, no matter what the instance, not that she ever did much in the first place.

It's practically almost a reflex for her now, but it's just that– it's strange, she thought, strange that Chat Noir had something of Adrien's with him today, because it meant that at some point or another, the two of them crossed paths recently, whether Adrien intentionally gave Chat the lucky charm, or– or he unintentionally dropped it somewhere leaving her kitty to find it, they were near each other, as civilians, which also meant that there's a good chance that she crossed paths with civilian Chat Noir too, as Marinette.

She couldn't understand why the mere thought of that was so exhilarating, especially since it wasn't even the first time that she'd learned that that was a possibility.

She'd thought that Chat attended her school even, when Mlle Mendeleiev was akumatized, so she really shouldn't have been feeling anything new right now, but she was, because this time seemed different for some reason.

This time, herself and Chat Noir (and both their kwamis, probably) were possibly the only ones who knew of this small aspect that connected him to his civilian life, that connected him to her.

She assumed that he'd already noticed that the charm was gone by now and had narrowed down the places that it could be, and Marinette's bedroom was on that list.

" _It's you and me against the world, milady_ ," he'd always said when they were alone together in a tough spot.

For some reason, this felt like one of those times, but not in the way that she was used to. Sure, this instance was just as terrifying, but it also excited her.

Her head wasn't any clearer in the morning.

-

Marinette hears footsteps coming towards her shortly after the familiar slam of the locker room door.

Adrien, in his white fencing uniform, soon comes into her line of vision, heading for his locker, and her breath swiftly quickens.

 _He looks so handsome_ , she can't help but think, but, _no! Bad Marinette_ , her mind immediately chastises before she can take that thought any further. _Focus!_

She does, and, "Hi, Adrien!" she's soon hearing herself greet way too loudly for the quiet locker room without even realizing that she's doing so. She slaps a hand to her mouth, embarrassed.

Meanwhile, the blond slightly jumps at the sound of his name being called, looking around for a second before his eyes finally land on her. He probably thought that he was alone. "M-Marinette!" He addresses her cheerfully. "Hey! How's it going?"

"Oh, you know," she waves her hand dismissively at him, getting to her feet, "good is going always," she trails off, giggling so stupidly nervously. "But– but I was actually hoping to talk to you about something?"

Adrien tries to shoot her a soft smile then, and normally, she would already be blinded by it, but for some reason, this time, it appears to be strained. Is she keeping him and he doesn't know how to tell her? She knows how busy his schedule is.

"Sure, what's up?" He asks as politely as he always does, however.

"Um," she begins unsurely, but attempts to get to the point, in case she is, "I was just– I was actually just wondering if maybe you had the lucky charm that I gave you on you, like, r-right now."

"Okay." His eyebrows furrow. "May I ask why?"

Marinette shakes her head. "Oh! Reason no no!" She starts stumbling over her words right out the gate, swinging her arms about like she has absolutely no control over them whatsoever. "It's just that you said that with you everywhere you take it–" she shakes her head again.

"I mean, _you take it with you everywhere_ ," she corrects pointedly, "so I wanted to know if you have it on you right now, since– since you just came from fencing practice, you know?" There's a pause, and she feels that she has to clarify. "I– I mean I'm guessing, of course," she babbles on. "Because I'm not, like, stalking you like a creep or anything. I mean, it's not like I know your entire schedule! Of course not! I just know because you're hot in your fencing uniform–" Adrien raises both eyebrows at that, and she realizes what she's said.

Her eyes round in utter horror, and " _YOU'VE_ GOT ON _YOUR FENCING UNIFORM_ ," she instantly yelps, amending her words and slapping her forehead in shame, but it's already too late.

They're already out there, in the open air, and Marinette hates to say this– really, she does– but now would be the perfect time for an akuma to show up and interrupt their conversation, she thinks.

She waits for a beat, listening for a crash in the distance or screams or _something_ , but all she can hear is the sound of her heart pounding in her ears and the blood still rushing to her face.

 _God, just another reason to hate Hawkmoth_ , she quips bitterly in the back of her mind. _The guy has terrible timing._

She's debating whether or not she should just run out herself right now (because she feels that's she's already had enough time to stew in her humiliation) or continue this mortifying conversation with Adrien– Adrien, whom she finds sporting an expression that's a cross between slightly embarrassed and amused when she chances a look at him, and ultimately decides that she's doing the first and changing schools on top.

Why did she think that she could do this again?

"Marinette, are you subtly trying to ask me if I've lost my lucky charm?"

... Would he find it weird if she screamed ' _my life is a mess and so am I_ ' right now? Most definitely, so she simply hangs her head in shame instead.

"Yes," she admits though she really wasn't supposed to.

He lets out a melodious laugh and places his hand on her shoulder. "Does that mean that you found it then? My lucky charm?"

She sighs, trying not to tense up under his touch. "I did."

"Really?" His eyes light up as she pulls it out of her pocket. "Wow, that's amazing, Marinette! Thank you! I was looking for it everywhere! Where'd you find it?"

She doesn't hand it over to him immediately, instead biting at her lip, because she isn't quite sure how to answer that. She hadn't thought this far ahead.

Obviously, there's no way that she can tell him that it was discovered in her bedroom, because how could she explain that to him without telling him about Chat Noir and his occasional visits?

Besides, there are still so many things that she wants to know, even though she's deeply aware that she should just leave it alone, so she puts her hand behind her back, moving it out of his reach before he can take it from her and says, "A friend of mine, who wasn't sure who it belonged to, actually did, so I wanted to make sure that you didn't have yours with you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marinette," Adrien frowns. "I feel so bad about losing it, especially since it's really very special to me. Please, tell him I said thanks. It means a lot to me that he found it and told you about it."

Marinette is nodding at his statement and is about to respond herself when his words catch up to her. "Wait. I never told you that my friend was a he."

Adrien freezes. His body seems to tauten, and he gulps, chuckling lightly, his hand reaching up to rub at the nape of his neck. "R-Really?" She shakes her head. "Sorry, I guess I just assumed."

"Why?"

"I– I don't know," he stammers, and it's more than a little unusual for Marinette to see him like this. He's always so cool and composed. "I guess that I just kind of figured that if it was one of the girls or any of our classmates, really, that you'd just say their name, heh heh."

She narrows her eyes at that, leaning forward and smirking at him. "Adrien, are you _lying_?"

And his green eyes go large as he steps away from her. There's silence... and then he cracks, tossing his head back.

"Yes! I'm sorry!" He throws his hands up in exasperation, to her ultimate surprise, before harshly running one down his face and groaning out, sounding so horribly regretful. "I'm so sorry, Marinette! I should have known better than to ever try to lie to you."

He gazes over at her with apologetic baby eyes, and wait, what the heck is he even talking about?

He threads back closer, grasping at both her arms gently, and takes a deep breath. "Okay, it's true. I'm Chat Noir, and you really shouldn't know that, but if there's anyone who I trust with that secret, after Ladybug, it's you, Marinette."

Marinette laughs hysterically at that, not being able to help it. "I'm sorry, for a second there, it actually sounded like you just said that you were–" She dithers at his serious, unwavering expression, because those are exactly the words that just came out of his mouth, aren't they? "WHAT?" She shrieks, and her brain basically breaks.

-

What?

W h a t

**WHAT!**

"You're _Chat Noir_?" Marinette whisper-yells at Adrien, unable to comprehend how anything in the universe works anymore. "For– For real? You're _Chat Noir_? H-How are you–? You– you can't be– Adrien!" She scolds, grabbing desperately at her pigtails as she tries to wrap her head around this. " _Why_ would you tell me that? Oh, this is a disaster!"

This is bad. This is very bad. This is so bad, and Tikki's going to kill her!

Or, well, no. Tikki wouldn't ever hurt her. She's just going to give Marinette her famous ' _I'm so disappointed in you, Marinette. I told you not to do that_ ' look, and that might be even worse.

"Why would I tell you that?" Adrien repeats in confusion. "Because you already knew!" He trails off. "... D-Didn't you?"

"No! I didn't!" She shakes his shoulders, her eyes manically wide. "I was just teasing you, Adrien! Like you did to me that one time after you saw all the totographs of you in my bedroom? I didn't think that you'd actually– I didn't think that you were actually– You're _Chat Noir_!"

She's sure that she's about to faint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, liked it? Loathed it?


	3. I Hear New York Is Lovely This Time of Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘Are you alright?’
> 
> He beams. Ever the amazingly considerate and perfect super heroine. He almost says it out loud. ‘Yes, I'm fine. Thank you.’
> 
> ‘Are you sure?’ She presses though, that nervous look back on her face, and it is then that he really begins to panic.
> 
> Why is she asking? Does she know? Is he in trouble? Is he going to Miraculous jail?
> 
> ‘Yes. Why? What did you hear?’ He skittishly spits out, and her eyebrows promptly knit together.”
> 
> -
> 
> Ladybug pops in for a visit. Adrien is totally cool about it. Only one of those things is true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know that tiktok sound that’s like “heyyy... how y’all doing...” all awkwardly and stuff? yeah, just insert that right here haha 👀

Marinette appears as if she's about to faint. Adrien's more than a little confused.

"You– you were just teasing me?" He repeats her words incredibly slowly, eyebrows drawn together as he deeply frowns. "What do you mean? You actually found the lucky charm in your bedroom, didn't you? What did you– what did you think if you didn't figure out that I was Chat Noir?"

"I don't know!" Marinette exclaims, throwing her arms up in a panic. "That you purposely gave the charm to civilian Chat for good luck, because you know him or something and you just didn't want me to know that you lent it out!"

Adrien shrinks back, smiling weakly. That... actually kind of makes sense. "R-Really?" He squeaks though. "That's– that's all that you thought?"

" _Yes_ , that's all I that thought," his classmate groans, harshly pressing her fingertips to her forehead, "and I thought that even if you _were_ Chat Noir, you'd never actually tell me that you were, and I wouldn't ever actually have to think about it." She shakes her head, face pale.

"But _now_ , it's _all_ that I can think about. You're– you're _Chat Noir_ , Adrien. Chat Noir is you. You– you go to my school. _Chat Noir_ goes to my school. You sit in front of me in class. _Chat Noir_ sits in front of me in class. Chat Noir came to visit me on my balcony yesterday. _You_ came to visit me on my balcony yesterday. Chat Noir was in my bedroom. _You_ were in my bedroom. I gave you this lucky charm. I gave _Chat Noir_ this lucky charm," she rambles on and on hysterically, seemingly losing herself with each word and forgetting that he is also here in the process.

He's about to tell her that maybe she should calm down a bit, take a few deep breaths probably, but Marinette's eyes are suddenly widening and flashing with an emotion that he doesn't really recognize before he can say any of that.

"Oh my gosh. I'm... I'm in love with– so does that mean that this whole time I've– and Chat Noir is– so does that mean that you're–" Marinette falters, finally looking back up at him with wide blue eyes, her sentences fragmented. " _Y-You're_ in love with Ladybug?" She finally stammers out somewhat coherently. " _She's_ the girl that you're in love with?"

"Um, I..." Adrien stutters out just as uncertainly. He isn't sure how her train of thought lead to this, and he doesn't quite know how to respond to that. "I mean, I'm–"

Luckily, "No, don't answer that!" his friend saves him from doing so as she chaotically waves her hands in front of him.

"I, um– I have to go. Just... here." She grabs his hand and presses his lucky charm into his palm. "Try to be more careful with it, _please_? I won't tell anyone your secret, _obviously_. I'd just..." she bites her lip nervously. "I'd just hate for you to lose your Miraculous because of me." She reaches up and kisses his cheek briefly.

Adrien blinks in surprise, but Marinette's gone before he can react or even reply to her, almost as if she'd never even been there in the first place.

"W-What just happened?" He finds himself whispering into the empty locker room.

-

He's in his bedroom some time later, door locked, piano instrumental loudly playing in the background, and one giant suitcase lies on his bed.

A mountain of his clothes stands tall beside it, and Adrien's currently trying to wrestle his favorite black shirt from Plagg a few feet away from it.

"Will you just let go already?!" He groans, tugging the shirt to his chest.

But his kwami tugs back just as hard. He's stronger than he looks. "Only if you promise to stop this instant!"

"No, I can't _stop_ , Plagg!" Adrien grunts, refusing to let go. "I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do!" Plagg counters exasperatedly. "I'm not _letting_ you do this, Adrien."

"You're not letting me do anything," he argues, shaking his head. "This is _my_ choice, Plagg, and I know that this is hard, buddy, but I trust Ladybug's judgment. I'm sure that she'll find an excellent Chat Noir to replace me."

"I don't want another Chat Noir!" Plagg yanks the material toward him more forcefully.

"Oh yeah?" Adrien demands, doing the same. "What if the person that she finds owns a cheese shop?"

He feels his little kitty's grip loosen slightly at that before he snaps out of it and pulls the shirt towards himself with even more vigour. "Where are you even going to go?"

"Any place far away from here where I don't ever have to worry about showing my face to Marinette _or_ Ladybug again," Adrien answers easily, shrugging. "I could never face her if she found out what I did tod–"

He's reaching out to grasp the air and crashing back into a soft pile before he can even complete his sentence.

It takes him a second to realize that Plagg actually let go of the shirt that they'd been fighting for, and, consequently, caused Adrien to fall back into all the clothes on his bed.

He's going to–

"OHMYGOSH, Adrien, are you okay?!" He hears a panicked voice call out to him just as he was about threaten to take away all of Plagg's cheese privileges, and his heart rate instantly speeds up at the sound.

But _no_ , it couldn't be, he thinks while staring up at his ceiling in resigned indignity. He's definitely just imagining this, right?

Still, he lifts his head a bit to check, to humor his cruel brain, and he nearly starts choking on air when he actually sees her standing at his window.

Her stance is hesitant as she stays there with her hands wrung together and her expression worried, but Adrien's heart still flutters at the mere sight of her.

"L-Ladybug!" He rapidly attempts to scramble to his feet to properly greet her, because she's here, in his bedroom, at this moment, in the flesh, and he knows that he said that he could never face her again, but for right now, he'll just pretend that he didn't.

His hair, however, has other plans and prevents him from smoothly doing so and practically running into her arms as it gets caught on the zipper of one of his jackets.

He winces as he tries to pull it off and quickly save himself, but true to his luck, or lack thereof, he only makes it worse.

He's twisting and turning like a dog chasing its own tail while struggling to successfully painlessly get free, when he feels a warm, covered, tentative hand on his shoulder stop him.

"Need a little help there?" She almost sounds amused, and he'd pout at that if he wasn't so crazy about her.

But he can't even focus on that when color is currently racing to his cheeks, and he can feel his pulse quickening at her proximity, which is just ridiculous, because the two of them have definitely been much closer than this before, but neither his head nor his heart is looking for reasoning at the moment.

Adrien gulps, his palms becoming all sweaty and gross as he gazes at her, as he gazes at his lady, and his brain shouts at him to say something.

"Thanks, but it's really–" he hears the word die in his throat when he feels her place the jacket in his hand, but, "– stuck," he still has the need to finish meekly, maybe just to try to save face. "It was really stuck."

She smiles at him then, actually smiles, and it isn't tainted with fond exasperation like it usually is, and he is in awe of it. "I'm sure that it was. It's a good thing that you had a professional here to help you out."

He grins at her, breathlessly, because he loves it when she teases too. He nods and thanks her, "I owe you my life, m– Ladybug," he rapidly corrects, "and not that I'm not totally happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

 _Did Marinette say something?_ immediately makes its way into his head, but he briskly shoos that thought away, because she _wouldn't_.

"Oh, I just happened to be swinging by, and I– I heard yelling coming from your bedroom, so I thought that I'd check in to see if– if everything was okay," Ladybug explains. "You know with all the akuma attacks happening lately, you can never be too careful," she tells him. "Are you alright?"

He beams. _Ever the amazingly considerate and perfect super heroine._ He almost says it out loud. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" She presses though, that nervous look back on her face, and it is then that he really begins to panic.

Why is she asking? Does she know? Is he in trouble? Is he going to Miraculous jail?

"Yes. Why? What did you hear?" He skittishly spits out, and her eyebrows promptly knit together.

"What did I hear?" She queries, her tone making Adrien realize that he's being absurd right now. "What do you mean?"

He nearly sighs in relief. She doesn't know... Or at least he doesn't think that she does, so, "Um, nothing. Never mind," he shakes his head, huffing a bit. "I'm sorry, Ladybug." He motions to his bed. "Do you– do you want to have a seat?"

She glances around the room then, squinting slightly at her surroundings. "You're alone," she utters, as if she's only just noticed that. She sounds confused.

"Huh?" What does she mean? He's always alone (if they're excluding kwamis, of course). He tells her as much, but her expression is set.

"I could have sworn that I heard two different voices yelling at each other when I was outside," she states.

And, "Oh!" Adrien's eyes enlarge. He guesses that they _aren't_ excluding kwamis since she heard him arguing with _Plagg_. "That was me!" He hastily shouts out the first excuse that pops into his head. "I was talking to myself!"

“You were talking to yourself?”

“Yes!” He nods gawkily, deciding to just go with it, despite the weird look that he's being given. "Yeah, that's it. I was talking to myself. I did something really dumb today, you know, so I was giving myself a stern lecture in my very horrible attempt at my father’s voice. I do it all the time."

"You do?" Ladybug asks slowly, still sounding like she doesn’t quite believe him.

"I do," he bobs his head more fervently. "Don't you?"

"Sure," she shrugs, still eying him strangely. Her gaze moves to his bed. "Are you going somewhere?" She gestures to the large pile of clothes still sat next to his suitcase.

Adrien runs a hand through his hair as he stares at it, mocking him. "Yeah, I was thinking New York, actually," he mutters to himself, plopping down onto his mattress with a sigh. "I hear it's lovely this time of year."

"What was that?"

His eyes go wide as he realizes that he actually said that out loud. He really didn’t mean to. "I said that I think that you have very lovely and nice hair!" He’s quick to remedy his words though, motioning to her locks as dark as night, flashing a smile that’s big and bright. “How do you get it to be so shiny?”

“Moisturizer.” Ladybug's forehead furrows as she carefully takes the seat next to him. "Are– are you okay, Adrien? Do you feel weird about me being here in your home? Is that it? Because if so, I can leave."

"No!" He says quickly, way too quickly. He has to clear his throat when he sees the look of surprise on her face and lower his voice. "No, that's not it all, Ladybug,” he promises. “It's just that– I don't know. Do you mind if I ask if you normally do this?"

She tilts her head to the side. “Normally do what?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Hold idle conversation with random civilians in their bedrooms even after you've made sure that they aren't in any danger?"

"Oh," she mumbles, glancing down and looking away from him. He thinks that he sees a dust of pink spread across her cheeks. "Well, you're no random civilian, are you?" She gently nudges his shoulder with hers and peers back up at him. "You're Adrien Agreste."

He swallows at the look in her eyes as she says it, the one that he can’t decipher. It reminds him of something that he can’t put his finger on.

"Maybe so," he whispers, feeling as if he's just ingested an entire desert. "But still..."

Ladybug doesn't respond immediately, just stares at him for a bit longer, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say that she even leans in like he feels his own self presently doing... but he does, and his brain and heart are just playing tricks on him again, he's sure of it.

That much is clear when she turns her head completely and releases a small huff. "Alright, if I'm being completely honest," she begins, pressing her lips together, "you seem kind of freaked out and distraught, and I wouldn't feel right leaving you like this," she places a hand on his knee, and he's suddenly struggling to breathe, "so I just thought that I’d tell you that I'm here for you, Adrien," she squeezes it, "whatever you need. We can talk, or _not_ talk. Whichever you’d prefer, I’m here."

Adrien didn't think that it was possible to fall even more in love with her than he already was, but here he is.

"That's... awfully nice of you," he manages to get out comprehensibly despite the fact that his heart is lodged in his throat, "but may I ask why?"

She only gives him a small smile. "What can I say? I'm a lady of the people. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

His heart jumps out for her, but he still can't help but think how different her tune would be if she found out that she was talking to her partner and that he accidentally revealed his secret identity to a civilian.

"I lost something yesterday," he finds himself revealing, nonetheless, maybe just in an attempt to actually get it off his chest. You know, before he runs away forever and all.

"Oh?" Ladybug asks. "Define lost."

He sighs, a strand of his hair moving with the release. "Something highly important to me accidentally fell out of my pocket," he expounds, "and I didn't realize until it was too late."

He sees his partner nod slowly in his peripheral vision. "Is that why you're upset? Because you lost something important to you?"

"No," he admits quietly. "I think that was just kind of the straw that broke the camel's back." He fiddles with his fingers, not knowing how to look up at her. "It had already kind of been a rough day for me, and just when I thought that maybe things weren't so bad,” he pauses, biting his bottom lip, “just misplacing that on top of everything else was..."

"Absolutely soul crushing?" His lady finishes for him, and it almost makes him grin, because that’s precisely how he’d describe it.

"Yeah, exactly." He nods though, and it's silent for a minute before she's speaking up again.

"What about today?"

Adrien turns to look at her, cocking his head to the side. "What _about_ today?"

"Was today a better day?" Ladybug clarifies, expression soft and genuinely curious, and Adrien considers it, mentally goes over all the events of his day as he does.

He thinks of how anxiety ridden he was the entire time. He thinks of Marinette, and of her not speaking to him until the end of his fencing practice.

He thinks of how he stupidly revealed to her that he's Chat Noir. Thinks of how foolish he'd felt in that moment and all the moments after that, the moments after he’d realized what he’d done.

But he also thinks of the bright side. He thinks of how he _did_ get his lucky charm back (which he'd rather not admit was the thing that he was most worried about). Thinks of how she'd promised him that she wouldn't tell anyone his secret. Thinks of how much he believed her, and how much he trusts her wholeheartedly.

So the day was fine, really– more than, even. If only he could get over the embarrassment that he feels for not being able to tell when Marinette is joking with him. It was just like that time at the wax museum all over again.

Though, he supposes that this time was even worse because not only had he openly displayed his blatant incompetence in social cues, but she had freaked out for some reason and ran away from him before they could even properly talk.

She probably thought that he was weird for visiting her all those times as Chat Noir while being aware that he knew her as a civilian. He just hopes that she doesn't completely hate him.

"Adrien?" His lady’s voice brings him out of his thoughts.

He shakes his head, trying to focus again. "My apologies, m– Ladybug. I was just thinking about your question," he divulges. "I'd say that today _was_ a bit better, but just like yesterday, as soon as I started to think that maybe things weren't _completely_ terrible, something _extremely_ awful happened."

"You lost something else?" She asks him.

"No," he responds before pausing to think about it. "Or, actually, yes," he decides, "a friend probably."

"A friend?" She looks confused.

He nods ploddingly. "A very good friend. I told her a secret of mine that I really shouldn't have, and I think that I may have freaked her out a bit," he elucidates, "and she's already pretty uncomfortable around me as it is, so I'm kind of sure of it. I don't think that I could bear her actually admitting it though, so I'm running away."

"Wait, you're WHAT?" Ladybug shoots up from her seat then to stare at him like she thinks that he's gone absolutely mad. "What?" She repeats. "Is that what that bag is for?" She signs wildly to his suitcase. "You're running away? Adrien, you can't run away!"

He sighs, getting up to stand beside her. "Please don't try talking me out of it, Ladybug. I've already made up my mind."

She looks as if she's about to hyperventilate. "But– but don't you think that that's a bit extreme?"

"Not really, no," he answers honestly. "I'm so embarrassed. I could never show my face to her again, and on top of that," he adds, "I have this _other_ friend, and if she finds out that my first friend knows my secret, I could never handle how disappointed she'd be in me."

“Your... other friend?” Ladybug seems to soften at that. She stares down at her feet. "Do you– do you really think that it'd be that bad?" She asks quietly.

His chest rises and falls with his exhale. "She'll never trust me again if she knows," he says, "and sometimes, it already feels like she doesn't very much."

"That's ridiculous!" His partner sounds thoroughly offended at the very idea. "I trust you with my life!”

His gaze snaps to hers. "What?"

Her eyes round and she starts waving her arms around frantically as she tells him, "I– I mean, _I'd_ trust you with my life, Adrien!”

And _oh_. He almost blushes at that. "Well, thanks," he smiles at her, "but you don't really know me all that well, Ladybug."

"... No, I guess I don't," she allows, "but I do know Chat Noir," she shrugs, "and if he were you, in this situation, and I were your friend, either of them, I'd like for him to come and talk to me about all this. I mean, how can you even be certain that you've lost this friend of yours for real, or that your other friend won't be able to trust you anymore? Have you tried talking to any of them?"

He frowns. "Well, no."

"Then you should," Ladybug advises him, taking his hand in hers. "Before you go jetting off to New York and changing your entire life over a small misunderstanding. Your first friend was probably just a little shocked at what you told her or– or something, I'm guessing," she stutters out that last bit. "She probably just needed space and time to think over everything, and– and your second friend just needs you to communicate with her," she continues, "but I promise, she needs you here." She gently squeezes his hand. "They both do."

This time, he can feel the heat peppering his face and all along his ears. "Do– do you really think so?"

"Of course," his lady smiles at him, and it suddenly, things don’t seem so bad anymore. "Who would ever want to lose you, Adrien?"

"You really mean that?"

"I really mean that." She squeezes his hand again before pulling away and taking a step back. "I should get going though. I have patrol with Chat Noir in a bit."

Oh, wow, he's glad that she mentioned it. He hates to admit that he momentarily forgot about that with all the planning to disappear stuff.

"Of course," he beams at her. "Thank you for listening to me, Ladybug, and for stopping me from becoming an American," he states. "At least until after I talk to my friend."

"It was my pleasure," she laughs, "and hey, don't beat yourself up too much about these past two days, okay?" She starts backing away until she's at the window. "After all, with my coming over here, I could have dropped the lucky charm that _you_ gave _me_ and that could have been a whole mess too."

His eyebrows pull together then in befuddlement. "But I never gave you a–" His eyes widen in realization. " _Marinette_?!"

What?

W h a t

**WHAT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo, guess which bumbling idiot accidentally deleted all her Miraculous drafts and lost her will to write for this fandom because of it lmaooo 
> 
> yup, that’s me ;) *That’s So Raven’s voice*
> 
> don’t worry though, I am deeply ashamed and shall never mentally refer to myself as a writer ever again 😔
> 
> anyway, I promise I’ll update and conclude this fic in a week lol 
> 
> (if I don’t, I give you my full permission to punch me in the face,,, just spare my definitely-not-a-writer hands)


	4. My Brain Feels Like It’s Itching Whenever I Look At You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "’It's good to see that this whole situation hasn't affected your modesty,’ Marinette quips, rolling her eyes at his antics. ‘Shame, really. I really wanted to see you without your clown costume on.’
> 
> A laugh promptly spills out of his mouth despite himself. ‘At least now I know that there's no question about whether or not it's really you. Only my lady can wound me and make my heart swell all in the same breath.’ Adrien clutches at his chest theatrically, and she feels color dust across her cheeks.”

In a desperate attempt to calm herself, Ladybug finds herself furiously pacing back and forth on the rooftop that she and Chat Noir had agreed to meet up on for patrol tonight.

She feels as if she can physically hear her heart pounding in her ears, and to say that she is nervous would be an understatement.

In the last six minutes alone, she's raised her hand to her mouth _four_ times with the thought of chewing on her fingernails at the forefront of her mind, only for her to have to immediately drop it again when she realizes that she _can't_ because of her suit.

She's such a mess, but who can blame her? She has no idea if she did the right thing by telling him.

She'd told Tikki beforehand that she would, (' _I'm sorry, but I have to, Tikki. I just don't think that it'd be fair for me to know while he didn't._ ') but she still doesn't know if she made the right choice.

On the one hand, she's _very_ aware of the dangers of the two of them knowing each other's secret identities, if the traumatizing events of Chat Blanc were anything to go by, but on the other hand, she knows that Chat Noir absolutely despises secrets and being kept out of the loop.

He already feels like she doesn't trust him– he said so himself, but the fact is that she _does_ trust him, more than she has anyone else that she's ever met, and it just wouldn't feel right keeping this from him, especially since this is something that he's always longed to know.

The sound of someone landing behind her brings her out of the maze that is her mind right now, and Ladybug braces herself.

"Milady?" She hears him hesitantly call out to her, his voice only this quiet in really serious situations. "Are you– is it really you?" He asks as she sucks in a breath. "Marinette?"

Ladybug turns to face him then, smiling softly at him. It's now or never, she thinks, taking a step forward and revealing, "It's really me, _chaton_ ," just as gently.

She sees him gulp, and she feels the need to do so as well as she prepares for what she's about to say next. "Tikki, spots off."

Marinette feels the familiar glow of the magic that she's come to know and love run down her body as her superhero suit disappears, and as it does, she just barely catches her partner's intake of breath.

She glances up in that instant, and, in the faint glow of the cool Parisian night, glimpses the pure, unadulterated joy spread across his face once he sees her, once he _truly_ sees her. It warms her more than a plate of freshly baked croissants.

"Hi, Chat Noir!" Tikki excitedly addresses him before either of them can utter a word, not that they'd even know what to say. She flies in front of his face and grins sweetly at him. "It's so nice to officially meet you."

Her kitty still looks slightly stunned, but he flashes her kwami a bright smile back nonetheless. "It's a pleasure to officially meet you too, Tikki," he replies, lifting a single clawed finger up to shake her hand.

He gazes back over at Marinette. "I'm guessing that you'd like to meet my kwami now too, mi– Marinette?"

She doesn't miss the way that he amends the end of his sentence. "Actually, we've already met a few times," she tells him though, without commenting on it. "But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't mind seeing him again, or mind seeing if it's really you." She bites her lip. "If you're really Adrien?"

"I don't understand why you'd want to. I'm much cooler than that guy," Chat Noir smirks, twirling his staff expertly.

She rolls her eyes at his antics. "It's good to see that this whole situation hasn't affected your _modesty_ ," she quips. "Shame, really. I really wanted to see you without your clown costume on."

A laugh promptly spills out of his mouth despite himself. "At least now I know that there's no question about whether or not it's really you. Only my lady can wound me and make my heart swell all in the same breath." He clutches at his chest theatrically.

Marinette feels color dust across her cheeks, and she watches as her partner's eyes soften as the laughter dies out of them and is instead replaced with something else entirely. He trudges forward then until he's standing directly in front of her, looking as if he wants to reach out and touch, and maybe he would if he weren't afraid to do so.

"Plagg, claws in," he whispers so lowly that she almost doesn't hear him.

She watches in awe as his suit too magically vanishes and leaves the boy that she's loved for so long in its wake. She's sure that she looks just as astounded as he did when she dropped her transformation, but now she understands why. She means it's one thing knowing that something happens and a completely other to see it happen in front of your very own eyes.

She feels like her heart has jumped into her throat.

Plagg instantly starts to prattle once he appears, however, causing her to forget all that and completely changing the mood in the process. "For the record, Sugar Cube," he lets Tikki know, crossing his tiny arms over his chest, "I did _not_ agree to any of this."

She sees Adrien roll his eyes behind him, but Tikki only smiles, floating over to him. "I know, Stinky Sock," she says serenely, "but they've made their choice... and I'm proud of them. Who knows? Maybe them knowing will only make them stronger."

Marinette can't help beaming once she hears those words. She could probably cry right now even. "I really appreciate you saying that, Tikki."

Her kwami glides back over to give her a hug. "Of course, Marinette."

But of course, Plagg has to cut in once again. "Bleh," he gags exaggeratedly, "I need to get out of here before all this sweet talk makes me sick." He begins flying away in the opposite direction, but turns back for a second to face Adrien. "But for what's it worth, kid, I'm glad that you're staying."

He zooms away before Adrien can say anything, but the smile on his face says it all.

"I'll go keep an eye on him!" Tikki announces, heading in Plagg's direction.

Marinette giggles. "He seems like he's a handful," she notes, and Adrien laughs along with her.

"He is," he admits before his eyes soften again and his expression quiets with a sort of awe and reverence. "I found you," he whispers.

She gulps. "Yeah, well, it was about time that you did, don't you think?" She jokes.

Adrien rushes in with a hug that completely catches her off guard. "I hope you realize that now that I have, I am never letting you go."

"I'd hope that you weren't." She nuzzles into his shoulder, reveling in this moment. "... Now let me go," she commands after a minute or two.

He does, but he looks confused as he does. She has a few things that she needs to settle before she can truly bask in the joy that is this evening though. For instance, "You were planning to move to New York?" she has to cry.

Adrien immediately begins to play dumb. "What? No. Of course not," he splutters out, eyebrows pulling together as if he is truly confused. "What makes you say that? Heh heh," he tries to laugh it off nervously.

His lady isn't buying it. "Kitty, why didn't you tell me?" She takes his hand in hers and leads him over to sit on the edge of the roof. "About how you were feeling? You do know that we can talk, don't you? As just us?" She asks. "Whichever us that may be, whether it's– it's Chat Noir and Ladybug, or Marinette and Adrien. I mean, you don't have to be Chat for me to want to be here for you as Marinette, and you don't have to be Adrien for me to be here for you as Ladybug."

He swallows, chances a look up at her from where he was looking down at their connected hands. "I don't?"

"No, you don't." She shakes her head, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry that I made you think that you make me uncomfortable," she pauses, pursing her lips, "or, er, that _Adrien_ makes _Marinette_ uncomfortable," she clarifies. "And I'm sorry that I made you feel like Ladybug doesn't trust Chat Noir. I meant it when I said that I trust you with my life and that I need you here."

"Do you really?" He questions softly. "Because sometimes it feels like you don't and that you could do this all by yourself," he confesses to her.

She frowns, thinking that over before she releases a small sigh. "Yeah, maybe I could," she reluctantly admits, "but I can't even imagine having to do so," she finishes firmly. "I _never_ want to do this without you, Chat, and I know that sometimes it seems like I don't have time for you, that I don't have time to talk and be there, but everything's just been so stressful lately and sometimes it feels like too much, you know? But you make it easier to deal with."

"Me Chat or me Adrien?" He tilts his head. This is all kind of confusing.

"Yes," Marinette answers around a laugh as she thinks the same thing. "You Chat _and_ you Adrien."

He nods slowly, barely able to contain how happy that one sentence alone makes him feel. "So does that mean that I don't then?" He still has to ask though. "Make you uncomfortable as Adrien, I mean."

She looks up at him, looks up into his eyes, then glances away, out at the city. "No, you do the complete opposite, actually," she replies in a hushed tone, a blush taking up residence on her cheeks once more.

His eyebrows furrow. "I make you feel comfortable?" That's good, he supposes.

She giggles at that. "No, you don't exactly do that either," she says, pulling on one of her pigtails. "No, you actually make me embarrassingly nervous and mortifyingly skittish," she states, "and you make my heart race and my palms sweat, and my brain feels like it's _itching_ whenever I look at you, and I know that that's a weird thing to say, but that's the only way that I know how to describe it, and– and I always forget how to speak around you, Adrien," she bites her lip, glancing back over at him, "but you have never made me uncomfortable, okay?"

He feels his breath hitch under the intensity of her gaze. "What do you mean? How do I do all–" He trails off, eyes widening in realization. " _Me_?" He nearly squawks. " _I'm_ the boy that you're in love with?"

"Since the day that we met," she exhales, deciding it best to just get it out there in the open. It's about time that she did, no? She falters, turns it over in her head. "Or, well, that's not true. Since the _second_ day that we met," she corrects.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I _tried_ ," Marinette laughs, "about _four hundred_ different times. I never felt brave enough to do it," she tells him. "There was this one time where I came really close though, but then you told me about this other girl that you were in love with, so I kind of just," she shrugs non-committally, "... didn't."

"You," Adrien realizes.

"Me," she shakes her head in amusement. "Of course I didn't know that at the time, but that's probably a good thing, because if I did, I probably would have went and done something stupid like revealed to you my secret identity and declared my unconditional love for you, which is exactly what I decided to do today, but that's besides the point, because I just thought that I had to, you know? And I wanted to too, because you've always wanted to know so badly, but you've also always respected my decision to _not_ know, and then you went and accidentally told me, but there was no way for you to know that you were spilling your secrets to _Ladybug_ , and I get it, I do, because I am _nothing_ like her. I mean, I'm so lame and clumsy compared to her, and I am not nearly as courageous, and–"

"Whoa." Adrien cuts in, interrupting her rant that was all said in one breath. "What are you talking about, Marinette? You're exactly like her," he assures her seriously. "You _are_ her, and even when I didn't know that you were, I saw her in you all the time. You're our everyday Ladybug, remember? You are not lame, and I'll admit that you are extremely clumsy, but whoever said that that was a bad thing?" He grins at her, and she can see his Chat showing. "You're courageous and fearless and brilliant and compassionate and selfless, and you're everything that anyone could ever want in a hero and partner and more," he tells her before adding more quietly, but just as solemnly. "You're the girl I fell in love with, Bug."

The organ inside her chest leaps for him and simultaneously bursts with joy once she hears that. "So you're not disappointed that it's just me?"

"I could never be disappointed," he raises a hand up and softly presses it to her cheek, "not when it comes to knowing you."

She closes her eyes at the contact, shivers, and releases a shaky breath. "I really want to kiss you right now."

His eyes flutter closed as well as he touches her forehead with his. "What's stopping you?"

"... I'm scared," she confesses quietly. "Hawkmoth's getting stronger everyday. He has Mayura at his side helping him, and Master Fu is gone now," she says, opening her eyes and slightly pulling away from him. His hand still rests on her cheek. "What if– what if Hawkmoth does something and ends up using us against each other?"

Adrien moves his hand away, frowning and looking down. "That does sound like something that he'd do."

 _He's partly done it before_ , she doesn't tell him, and instead chooses to declare, "I love you, Adrien. I need you to know that," because she finally has the courage to tell him so, "... but I can't take that chance."

He looks as if she's just torn his bell off and thrown it into the street. "What– what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I couldn't be happier that you lost your lucky charm, _mon chaton_ ," she gently places her hand on his face this time, "and I couldn't be happier that I was the one who found it, because it led us to finding _each other_ ," she caresses his cheek, smiling with tears in her eyes, "but now, we need to find Hawkmoth and Mayura, and we need _them_ to lose _their_ Miraculous."

Adrien swallows and smiles a bit sadly at her too. "I understand," he replies, and then, more brightly and sounding more like himself, tells her, "I like the way you think, princess," with a wink.

Her heart soars at the sight. "Really?" She asks him. "You're not upset that I don't think that we should be together as yet?"

He shakes his head, his green eyes shining with so much emotion that she thinks that her entire being could explode just looking at it. "How can I be when there's a _yet_?" He enthuses. "How can I be when I know that there's hope for us still? How can I be when I've found you? When I've just discovered that the two most incredible girls in my life are the same person, and that that girl loves me back?" He puts his forehead on hers once more. "This is the greatest day of my life, Marinette. Who would have ever thought that I could be so lucky? You weren't kidding when you said that your charm really worked."

She throws her arms around his neck and tugs him in close with a small laugh. "I'm the lucky one," she mumbles into his shoulder, squeezing him tightly and refusing to let go this time. "We're going to make it out of this, kitty. I promise."

"I know we will," Adrien whispers, holding her just as securely. "It's you and me against the world, milady."

"Yeah," she breathes, looking out at the city around them, the one that holds much more dangers and surprises for them that they can't even anticipate.

It's scary, sure it is, and, some days, she still doesn't even believe that she's up to the job, and she knows that sometimes he doesn't either, but none of that really matters right now, because she has him, and he has her, _and they have each other_ , and that's all that really counts, isn't it?

"You and me."

In this moment, at least, that's all that they really need.


End file.
